The level of knowledge of healthcare professionals about child restraint systems

Abstract

Introduction: Knowledge of how to correctly use the safety car seat is important to ensure that children are properly protected during their journey. European child transportation standards apply in Poland, which also indicate the type of car seat appropriate for the youngest children. The purpose of this survey is to assess the healthcare professionals knowledge in this field and estimate the percentage of children transported in rearward facing car seats. Currently, in Poland, there is a lack of collected data about the direction of the car seats in which the child traveled. This deficit is being initially supplemented by the results of the conducted study. Material and methods: 105 healthcare professionals participated in the study. They filled in questionnaires consisting of 29 questions that assess their level of knowledge about child restraint systems. Results: More than half of the respondents (n = 63; 61.76%) were convinced that a 2-year-old child traveling in a rearward facing car seat (RWF) is safer than if it traveled in a forward-facing car seat (FWF). Despite this, most of the healthcare professionals transported children over 1 year of age in FWF. In addition, not all healthcare workers are aware that the airbag should be deactivated when the child is transported in RWF in the front passenger seat. Conclusions: Healthcare professionals have insufficient knowledge about the safest way of how to transport children in their safety seat. This indicates a need to implement appropriate means to raise their awareness of this subject.